The King is officially uncaged and in celebration of T.I.’s return from prison, he will be appearing on the cover of XXL magazine’s July/August issue.

In the revealing article, written by Ben Detrick, Tip denies the insistent rumors that he supplied the government with pertinent information in order to receive a shorter prison sentence for charges stemming from a 2007 arrest on federal gun charges. “There ain’t nobody, nowhere in naan jail sayin’ I was on they paperwork,” the Atlanta-native told XXL. “Can’t nobody show you no paperwork with my name on it. Ain’t naan judge, ain’t naan D.A., ain’t nobody. But what troubles me is that there’s muth-afuckas out there talking ’bout they think or be-lieve I’m snitching, but riding around, smoking weed and drinking beer with muthafuckas who they know telling. But you want to sit back and talk shit about me on the computer.”

Besides clearing up snitching rumors, the southern rap giant also reflects on the content and direction of his new music, in light of his recent conviction. “I can talk about drugs and guns,” T.I. explained. “And I do. It’s just in a different way. I can go on a record and say whatever I want to say, but I just never done that. When T.I. was threatening you, whatever he was threatening you with, he had. Whatever it is he was saying would be done and could be done. He was telling the truth. Right now, for me to sit here and talk about having guns in my waistband would be a far cry from the truth. It’s not the case. It doesn’t feel like me to kick shit that ain’t a reality.”

In addition to the in-depth story on Tip, XXL’s new issue also includes stories on Miami Boss, Rick Ross, OutKast rap vet Big Boi and in honor of upcoming Independence Day, a package on hip-hop’s flourishing independent scene featuring such successful D.I.Y. acts as Murs, Tech N9ne and his Strange Music label and Duck Down Records.